We’re set for the October PDX Web Innovators meeting. Same place, same time, details at Upcoming.org. If you’re in the Portland area and interested in the web (developer, designer, entrepreneur, whatever), come talk about your projects and interests with your fellow web geeks.
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
7:00 PM
Equator Coffee Cafe
510 SE Morrison
Portland, Oregon
Keep up to date with the PDX Web Innovators via the Google Group.
We all got a good laugh (at least I got a good laugh) out of Richard MacManus’s job board announcement, but reality is stranger than fiction sometimes, as they still just keep coming. So, I thought I’d take a moment to recap. It’s been a while since I’ve actually looked for work, but if I ever need to again, I’m honestly glad there are so many resources available now. Down with Monster.com and HotJobs!
Aggregators
Why search so many places, when these guys bring everything to you? And by everything, I mean everything. Of course it depends on how focused your search is, but be prepared to mine though a lot of listings.
Social networking
What you get when you combine social networking with a job site.
Niche job boards
Sure, they all have their own audience right? Wrong. But, hey it’s easy money so who can blame them. Seriously though, if you’re looking for full-time work in a specific industry/field, these are much more focused than the big job sites.
Gigs
You’re a contract/freelance web professional and you want to get paid for your work? Check these out. You think TechCrunch is going to add a gig board now?
Matchmaking
These don’t necessarily pay, but if you’re looking for help on that hot startup idea or looking for the next Sergey & Larry to hook up with, they’re worth checking out.
Crowd sourcing
Have some time and want to tackle some tasks that may earn you some cash? Then crowdsourcing may be for you.
Green Jobs
This category isn’t really tech/web2.0 specific, but if you’re as concerned about the environment as Al Gore is, then this could be your ticket to doing something about it.
Managing your search
We wouldn’t be truly Web 2.0 without something to manage all of this, what with the todo managers, time trackers, etc. growing like weeds.
What did I miss? Add other job sites/board that you like?
Football is in the air again and that means I can root for the Ducks again instead of congratulating the beavers. Like most Duck fans, I was a bit delirious on Saturday after the big win over Oklahoma. Honestly, I had pretty much given up hope after Dixon’s second interception. I mean, how are you supposed to win the game if your offense can’t stay on the field for more than a play or two? But, I kept watching, because who knows, right? Well, the unthinkable happened and the Ducks scored 14 points and blocked an OU field goal in the last 1:22 of the game.
Now, they had a little help from a disputed onside kick. Well, as there usually is, there’s more to the story about why the play was not overruled by the replay official (sorry for the annoying oregon live survey, they really need to get rid of that). Turns out the replay official may have got the video late, didn’t have the same angles as ABC did, and was being pressured to make a call. In such situations, the replay official goes with the call on the field. Seems logical to me. Sure, if it happened to my team, I’d be pissed. Still, I’m not going to feel guilty about this win, because Oklahoma choked at the end giving up those two touchdowns and geting the kick blocked. They still had plenty of opportunity to win the game even with the bad call.
But, to me, the most interesting thing from that article was that the replay offical is paid $400 a game. So, you spend all this money implementing replay, for which decisions can mean millions of dollars in bowl revenue, and you pay $400? Something doesn’t seem right about that.
APIs were the topic at our Septemeber Web Innovators meeting and Adam has some notes. On the topic of what companies get out of having an API, if it’s good enough, people will write books about it. We’ve seen it with the Google Hacks and Amazon Hacks books and now the trend continues with a line of Flickr books. I’d argue that this is a good sign that your service has arrived, helps to increase mindshare and gets more people using your service, which ultimately will increase the bottom line. But, again the key here is it has to be from a service that’s compelling enough. So, producing an API to your new web service is probably not important to get in the intial set of features. But, if your service starts to gain traction, you better be considering it.
Also, related to the topic of making a service better through their API, check out Moo.com, which for $20 will make a set of minicards from your Flickr photos. I’d say that’s a good use of an API.
I don’t talk a whole lot about my day job here. Some of my readers may know for whom I work, and some even work there with me (hi guys), and I don’t plan to say much beyond this post. It’s a good company, and I enjoy the work, the people and the other important part of working.
Today, I was taken completely aback because the company began implementing a major internet filtering policy, and I mean major. I’m still investigating the full scope, but here’s a taste:
Now for the good news. Apparently, straight mp3 files are fine to download, RSS feeds and BlogLines is safe, and for those interested in the social networking scene, the pets are still ok.
I’m sure the guys at TechDirt would have something insightful to say about this, linking to studies showing how internet use is not that big of a deal and actually helps employees be more productive. Unfortunately, the company is entitled to do whatever it wants, and if it feels it needs to do this to save bandwidth, protect its systems, and maintain efficient work flow, well they have the right. I just won’t get to send around any of funny YouTube videos, listen to internet radio, watch movie trailers, check out the latest in social media (I’m thinking the company doesn’t have much of interest in understanding or using social media), or easily listen to podcasts. And like with any filtering technology, it will block something that would help me perform my job better, and then I’ll have to submit a request to unblock it or just go without it. Not the end of the world, but still, it will be an inconvenience.
Why post this then? Well, it got me thinking, and I don’t claim this to terribly insightful, that maybe the whole Net Neutrality debate is not the biggest danger to the internet. Maybe when companies and schools start following this example and shutting their employees and students out (as the government is already working on), and since I’m guessing that’s where a lot of people use the internet most, that will be a huge hit to many web sites and communities? I’m thinking that wouldn’t be a good thing. What do you think?
Update
Added upcoming.org to the list. I can’t believe they blocked that one. Ridiculous.
I wish I’d gotten to this sooner, but better late than never. Tonight is the night for the September PDX Web Innovators meeting. Check out the details at Upcoming.org. Would you look at that, we have a TOPIC!! Thanks to Adam for suggesting it. So, all you Portland web people come on out if you can and give your $.02 or just meet some fellow web geeks.
To keep up to date with the group, use our ultra-modern web 2.0 discussion software over at Google Groups:
http://groups.google.com/group/pdxwebInnovators
Here are some related API resources if you feel like studying up: